Mount Constitution, Mountain summit in Moran State Park, Orcas Island, United States
Mount Constitution is a mountain on Orcas Island and the highest point in the San Juan Islands, rising 2,400 feet (730 m) above sea level. A 52-foot stone observation tower, patterned after a medieval watchtower, stands on the summit. The peak lies within the 5,000-acre Moran State Park.
Charles Wilkes named the peak during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, after the USS Constitution. In 1936 the Civilian Conservation Corps built a 52-foot stone observation tower on the summit, designed by architect Ellsworth Storey and modelled on a medieval watchtower. The mountain lies within the 5,000-acre Moran State Park.
The name was given by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, honouring the frigate USS Constitution. The same expedition charted much of Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, so the summit's name records a naval survey rather than later settlement.
The 52-foot stone tower rises from the 2,400-foot summit, reached by road through Moran State Park on Orcas Island; the park covers 5,000 acres. From the top, look for Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Saturna Island, and the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Clear days give the widest views.
The 16-metre tower was designed by architect Ellsworth Storey and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936, modelled on a medieval watchtower. It stands on a summit 730 metres above sea level, the highest point in the San Juan Islands; only Devils Peak in California's Channel Islands rises higher on an ocean island in the contiguous 48 states.
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